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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bound — obliged
  3. tear — to rip
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — help
  6. stock — shares
  7. capital — money
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. stock — goods
  10. pop — soda
  11. capital — a city
  12. tear — from crying
  13. swing — to play on
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. pop — to visit
  16. pop — music
  17. swing — in golf
  18. bound — certain
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. bound — tied together
  22. swing — music
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. wave — a sudden rise

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com